Make Your Own Awesome Wrist Roller – Homemade DIY Forearm Roller

How to Make your Own Wrist Roller

A wrist roller is an awesomely effective device that can help you build a powerful grip and impressive forearms. It is also a fairly easy DIY project that can be homemade using items you probably already have around the house.

The wrist roller is, in my opinion, one of the most effective forearm developers ever devised. It is not a glamorous piece of bodybuilding equipment, and you don’t need to use much weight, but once you try it, you will understand why it is so effective!

Homemade Forearm Roller vs. Store Bought Wrist Roller

Honestly, this is such a simple device that it does not matter which way you go. I love the fact that I made my own wrist roller, and it only took maybe a half hour to gather the supplies in my garage and put it together.

However, if you do not have these items lying around or have access to a drill, then an inexpensive forearm roller from Amazon is all you need! Here is one that is highly rated and one that has additional grip options: 

Yes4All Wrist Roller (Amazon Top Pick)

DMoose Fitness Forearm Strengthener & Wrist Roller – 2 in 1

If you want to know how to make your own forearm roller, here are the step-by-step instructions:

DIY Wrist Roller Supply List

• Broom handle, wooden dowel, or a piece of 1″ or 1.5″ PVC pipe about 18″ long. The thicker the handle, the more challenging the exercise will be!
• Length of sturdy rope 5-6 feet long
• Some weights. Barbell plates or dumbbells will work. A reader also thought a jug of water would work if you do not have any weights. This is a terrific idea. A gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs (3.63 kilograms), and you can easily decrease the weight if needed.
  

Tools You Will Need

• electric drill
• 1/4″ wood bit

Instructions to Make the DIY Forearm Roller

1. Drill a 1/4″ hole through the center of the dowel or PVC pipe.
2. Take one end of a 5-foot piece of rope and feed it through the hole in the dowel, and tie in a nice big knot on the other so it can’t be pulled back through.
3. Tie either a small dumbbell or a 5 – 10-pound barbell plate to the other end of the rope.
4. Adjust the length of the rope so that when you hold the dowel in your hands and extend your hands straight out in front of your body, the dumbbell or barbell plate barely touches the floor.

To make the “deluxe” model, get a small carabiner and tie it to the rope’s end. This way, you can quickly add or remove weight by feeding the carabiner through the plate (Olympic plates will be needed for this option due to the larger hole) and clipping it to the rope.

Now, you have made yourself your very own wrist roller exercise device!

Modifications

You can experiment with the handle by wrapping it with duct tape or bicycle handlebar tape to make it more comfortable on the hands. You can also try different diameters of pipe. The greater the diameter, the more challenging it will be!

Start with a relatively lightweight, such as 10 lbs. This sounds like it will be too light, but trust me. This is not an easy exercise to perform, so it is incredibly effective. When the forearms get fatigued, the pain is intense!

How to Use the DIY Wrist Roller

Stand with the roller in your hands and arms extended straight before you. The weight should be on the floor or hanging just above the floor. Now, keeping your arms straight out in front the entire time, twist your hands to wrap the rope around the handle. Keep doing this until the entire rope is wrapped around the handle and the weight is all the way up as high as it will go.

Now, reverse the twisting of your hands to lower the weight back to the starting position slowly.

That was one rep. Do at least three or four reps. If this is too easy, add weight so you are barely able to complete three or four reps.

Do this at least three or four times per week, resting a day in between, and adding weight as your strength increases.

Make this the last exercise in your routine, as you won’t be able to hold onto anything afterward!!

Good luck, and be sure to get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day, EVERY DAY, to give your growing muscles the building blocks they need to become huge!

Thanks for reading my tutorial on how to make your own wrist roller. See my article on Forearm Training and  my other tutorials such as How to Make your own TRX straps.

If you don’t want to make your own, you can get a wrist roller pretty cheap at this Amazon link.